Getting dirty!

The vegetable gardening is in full swing!


We have planted two rows of Walla Walla sweets, a row of red onions and leeks (first time for leeks!), and three rows of potatoes - red, white and Yukon Gold.  No weeds yet :)


We have four full flats of flowers and more tomatoes than we need that we take out in the morning and bring in at night  Two days ago there was frost on my windshield when I headed out to work at 6:30 a.m.  Brrr!


The days are warm and the spring temps means the flowering trees and the orchards are bright with color and buzzing bees.  


.

The Golden Delicious apples next door are in full bloom!

When you duck into the orchard you can hear the  bees, 

busy doing their pollinating thing!

Later!!

~M

Milestone birthday...

Company is arriving and food and flowers are stacking up. 

My MIL turns 80 TODAY - and her kids have planned a big shindig and celebration Saturday.  She will have a great time visiting with all her family and the other folks joining us for lunch and visiting.

Old friends from Kansas flew out for the occasion and surprised her this morning... happy tears from all!

~M

Christmas lovin's

Has been GREAT having kids and grandkids here for Christmas.... Just think, last Christmas one daughter was pregnant, and this Christmas we have two sweet, sweet granddaughters to snuggle!  Lucky lucky us!

The house is quiet again....no burb cloths or flannel blankies on the back of the couch.... no toys repeating the same silly song again and again. No babies to hug or trade high fives with..... No dogs underfoot...no early morning baby hand-off so mama can get some more sleep.  bummer!!  


I need to look at January's calendar and figure out when we can make the trip over to see kids again :)


I am blessed!

A frosty few days...

 We have had cold, frosty weather for a while. Almost no difference between day and night temps!

 

Christmas lights are even prettier with the white frost magnifying the light!

Getting ready for Christmas!

Yesterday we went to the first of hopefully a number of Christmas-themed gatherings.  Spent the day with my hubby's side of the family, at a lodge on the way to Snoqualmie Pass.  Always lots of little kids, and always lots of noise and commotion.  This year one of my two grandbabies was there... albeit too little to participate much in the commotion. 

Ate too much, and enjoyed watching the little kids - my MIL's great grandkids - open gifts.  She always finds a fun gift that the kids immediately start playing with.

Our Christmas lights are on outside. I put them up in the snow two weeks ago... and of course now the snow is gone and it is much warmer.  Oh well... I was glad to get them up to enjoy!  Tree is ready to assemble.... hope to get it up and lights on it tonight.

Here is a project I finished up recently... Warren-family stockings for the two new granddaughters.  YAY!!

Ready or not.... snow!

This weekend was my target for getting the outside lights in the trees, bushes and along the fence.  I wanted to get them up before it snowed.....but didn't make it.

I guess mid-November is as good a time as any for our first snow.  It was really coming down this morning, but we headed off to town, with a number of stops to make.  We were snow-covered by the time we reached the door of each store.  There were fewer shoppers out than I expected, which I appreciated!

We came home to three or so inches... had to push the shovel ahead of us on the walk to get to the door.  Later the sun came out and I got some pics of the bushes in back.

Looking south toward the pasture... .blue sky and snow.

A light-weight shovel makes cleaning the walk and parking pad a lot easier!

Here is a huge snowy tumbleweed, wedged up against the pasture fence.

Later today I hung icicle lights on the top barbed wire on the fence, and as the light faded and the sun went down, my white Christmas lights were reflecting off the snow.  Love it!

Sew fun!

Now that I have two granddaughters, sewing has become even more fun!  I created some fun things for their rooms, and have been working on a few little projects. 


Here is M's quilt, nearing completion, with notes from family and friends.



A sweet sweet message from Auntie M.



Here is a dolly that E. made as a school project in 5th grade....
now dressed to match her daughter's nursery!

Been making some diaper/burp cloths.... kinda fun!!



 

Fun print!!  I found the tutorial on Prudent Baby.





Seasons.....

Spent most of today doing our "summer is over" thing in the yard.  A beautiful sunny day... warm enough that I shed my jacket within a few minutes. 

Looking south  - trees still have lots of leaves left!

Such a pretty day! 
Interesting that the one birch on the left and the one behind the weeping birch are still green!

Here is a "before" shot, taken on the walkway to our back door, the end of June.



Here is the "after" shot - four months later - as I load the cart on the right
with the frosted and dying plants from the containers.



Empty and ready to wait through the winter to be replanted.

Nice.

Cousins...

I LOVE these pictures....what fun times are ahead!

Gra-a-a-ndpa.... Let me play with her!

Look... I can pat her head!

Hmmm.... she is still pretty little .... I wonder when we can play?

Sweet sweet grandbaby has arrived!

Has been a rocky few weeks for me, and I am just the grandma! 

Daughter M's high risk pregnancy ended with her spending 2 1/2 weeks on bed rest in the hospital, battling high blood pressure and a number of health issues, all related to her pregnancy.  Docs were stymied more than once....not a comfortable feeling!

She was a rock star, and went into labor just shy of 37 weeks. Baby A was born healthy and much faster than expected, and with no anesthetic for mom, which was M's desire. 

We were on our way over to the west side, expecting the "several days" of labor that had been predicted.  What a SURPRISE to get a text message and picture - "Meet your granddaugher!"

Then the drama picked up, as mama lost a LOT of blood, and was hustled off to surgery for an hour and a half. 

The PROUD new daddy bonded with baby A, holding her skin-to-skin against his bare chest, and making phone calls to let family know what was happening. 



Brand new!



Little A is a doll.... big enough and healthy enough to not need any special care. 



One week old already!



Recovery continues to be difficult for mama... as the pre-pregnancy health concerns are lingering longer than expected.  Add in some hormones, and little sleep.....yikes. 

Eventually they willl look back on this time... and realize they survived.  Baby A will be bigger, smiling at them, and capturing their hearts even more.

I am one proud, happy grandma!

visit comin' up!

Gearing up for a trip to the westside...taking zukes, cukes, potatoes, onions, eggs and homemade cherry jam.... what fun!

Has been a few weeks since we have seen that grandbaby!  Can't wait!  And we get to see our pregnant daughter.... haven't seen that baby bump in too long!!

This unassuming pile are the pieces of a crib skirt, cut out and ready to sew.  :)

I need to get busy!!

Growin' like crazy!

Summer is in full swing in eastern Washington, as you can see by the garden pics. Had potatoes and onions for lunch yesterday..... just minutes after we harvested them!

Sweet corn looking good!

Birdhouse gourd hillls continue to spread like crazy... little gourds are starting to form.

Sunsflowers in the back, leaning to the east, facing the morning sun. 
Zukes in front, mulched with big sheets of cardboard.  Not real attractive, but works!



Found our first tomatoes in the midst of overwhelming foliage!
I am brutally breaking off the suckers.

First potato harvest... yukon gold, reds, and russets.  Tasty!

And use fresh-picked strawberries and raspberries for first jam of the season....

Crushed fruit, lids simmering, and LOTS of sugar!

Four pints - YUMMY!!!

The pectin box had a recipe for jalepeno jelly... think I might get peppers at the farmers' market next week and give it a try!

Been absent a bit....

...so here is a quick post of grandbaby pics.  Hopefully more time to write later today. 

Surprise!!!

Aren't I a cutie??

Some random photos of sunshine, shadows and summery vistas...

We planted this tree about thirty years ago.....
Love the weeping look and the evening shadows

My kids found these FUN FUN FUN cut-outs about ten years ago. 

They make me smile every time I see them!



Sun and shadows on the pool fence.

 

Shasta daisies I planted from seed many years ago... purple salvia - love it! - in the front.

Sweet grandbaby!

Little Miss M and her mama are here visiting. Selah weather has been cooperating, and we are all sporting a bit of suntan...except of course for the little miss... sunscreen, hat and spf swimsuit kept her safe and non-pink!

Lots of fun pics.... will share a couple....

Reading But No Elephants, a favorite from mama's younger days





Intent on turning pages





Cutie pies!!

Such a happy kid!!  (blurry but happy!)



Grandbaby is a-comin'

My daughter and grandbaby are headed this way for a long weekend.. can't wait!!!  Weather was HOT..and now it looks like that time in the pool may have to be delayed. Wind has picked up and it is supposed to be much cooler tomorrow.

Will be great to spoil them for the weekend!

And grandbaby number two is just over a pound, nearly a foot long, 23 weeks in the womb..... and moving up a storm.  Will have to start bugging her parents for a name :)

More green growing things at the end of June!



Potato plants are growing fast, and blossoms are appearing.



Hostas glowing in the late evening sun.



Bird-house gourd plants starting to stretch out...most of the tendrils are headed north - ??



Corn is supposed to be "knee high by the 4th of July" - not sure why :)